1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to nuclear fuel pellet inspection and, more particularly, is concerned with an improved apparatus for inspecting fuel pellets for surface defects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nuclear reactors include fuel assemblies which contain pellets of fissionable material as their basic fuel element. In one exemplary embodiment, a pellet ideally takes the form of a right cylinder with slightly concave or dished opposite ends. For incorporation into fuel assemblies, a number of pellets are stacked end to end in a fuel rod cladding tube which, like the pellets, is usually of circular cross-section. Then, a given number of fuel rods are grouped together in a fuel assembly.
It is essential that all pellets used in the fuel assembly be free of circumferential defects, such as cracks and chips, in order to achieve desired stacking of the pellets within the fuel rod tube as well as uniform heat transfer between the stacked pellets and cladding tube and uniform consumption of the pellets during operation of the reactor core. Consequently, an important step in the manufacture of the nuclear fuel pellet is the inspection of its surface to ascertain whether there are any defects present.
Exemplary prior art systems for inspecting and classifying nuclear fuel pellets are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. to Jones (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,221,152; 3,272,332; and 3,282,116), Ryden, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,103), Marmo (U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,502), and Wilks et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,112). While the inspection systems of these prior art patents appear to achieve their objectives under the range of operating conditions for which they were designed, none of these systems appear to be adapted to perform inspection of a pellet for circumferential or surface defects.
One commercial inspection apparatus, sold under the registered trademark, Inspector General, by Cochlea Corporation of San Jose, CA, for inspecting and sorting small parts uses non-contact, three-dimensional ultrasonic vision to verify the identity, shape, defects, orientation, and sequence of parts. Its overall objective is to acoustically detect and cull out parts with shape defects. For a detailed understanding of this Cochlea Corporation inspection apparatus, attention is directed to a publication entitled "Inspector General User's Guide" dated August 1987 and to U.S. Patents to Buckley et al (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,557,386; 4,576,286; and 4,690,284) and Pinyan et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,852) assigned to Cochlea Corporation.
Basically, inspection by this apparatus is accomplished while the parts are in transit. The parts to be inspected are fed down a chute from a vibratory bowl feeder by a singulation device. As each part is in transit, it is exposed to 40 kHz sound waves emanating from suitably positioned emitters The waves bounce off the part, and the reflections are then picked up by an array of transducers or sensors. Analysis of reflected sound waves gives each part an unique "acoustic signature", which is compared to a previously "learned" good part signature. Acceptance or rejection is based on that comparison. This acoustically-based system is said to out perform and be more versatile than more traditional vision, laser, tactile and proximity-sensing techniques.
However, in its approach to parts handling and positioning, this "off-the-shelf" inspection apparatus is designed for general purpose parts inspection and sorting and thus cannot be used directly, without modification, to inspect nuclear fuel pellets. Consequently, a need exists for modifications to this inspection apparatus which will dedicate it to nuclear fuel pellet inspection.